We're getting closer to planting our garden. A great rule of thumb is to plant seeds and transplants outside around Memorial Day weekend. A good idea is to gather all of your seeds and create a key of where each seed will be planted. This will help you identify each plant during the germination process.
When planting seeds be sure to follow individual planting instructions. A planting guide can be found here. (http://blog.mlive.com/freshfood/2012/04/post_155.html)
The planting process:
1) To create neat, straight garden rows, take two stakes and attach the end of a piece of string that is the same length as your intended garden row to the stakes. Push one stake in the ground at one location and then walk horizontally across your garden. Place the other stake in the ground, forming a straight, easy-to-see garden row. Run a garden hoe along your string guide to form the seed valley.
2) Now you can plant your seeds. Open your seed packets and place a seed at the predetermined planting rate (distance apart/between seeds). Remember to wear gloves.
3) Walk along the row and use both hands to gently cover the seeds and fill in the small valley created from step one.
4) Mark the end of the row so you know what seed is located there.
5) Repeat steps 1-3 for the rest of your row seeds.
Other seeds such as squash, melons, pumpkins and other viney plants should be planted in hills. Spacing the hills farther apart allows room for the plant to grow and spread out. Push soil together forming a small hill. Take 4-5 seeds and place them inside the hill at the appropriate depth. Firmly press the soil together to cover the seeds.
Helpful hint: Stagger the planting of sweet corn seed by planting a new row each week for three weeks. It will spread out the time that the corn is mature and you will have fresh sweet corn longer.
Here's how you transplant the seeds you started indoors. Take the germinated plant and carefully extract it from the pot it is located in. Try not to remove any soil from the roots. Form a small hole in your garden so that when the transplant is placed in it the roots and soil ball are underground. Then gently fill in the hole with surrounding soil. Try not to push soil up around the stem of the plant. Complete this for all of your transplants.
Congratulations, you have successfully planted your garden! Check back next week when we cover garden care and harvesting our produce. In the meantime, enjoy this classic corn bread treat.
Recipe: Buttermilk Corn Bread
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square pan.
Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well-blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.